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Unofficial Translation
Selected Comments National Forum: Food Security and Nutrition
07 July 2009
When Will Crisis End?
… Up to now no
one, including most learned economists of International Monetary Fund (IMF) or
World Bank (WB), has the courage to affirm as to when the current economic
crisis will end. Some came up with a promising date of 2010, while others
believe it will be 2011. It is therefore important to foresee what impact might
there be on the Cambodian economy. The Asian financial crisis in 1997 some way
affected some parts of the world economy but countries like the People’s
Republic of China did not suffer the impact while on the other hand reaching out
to help those countries in crisis … Countries like the United States of America
and Japan had played very important roles in solving the situation …
As this time,
the crisis came from a larger part of the world economy and rendered its greater
effects in all continents … As far as Cambodia is concerned we have tried to
lower the rate of poverty from over 40% to over 30% in 2007. The question here
is when the world economy is suffering slowdown, our national economy is also
one of them, will we be able to reach our target of 1% per annum poverty
reduction or not? In fact the impact has brought its weight for the poor to bear
… In this situation if we could not increase the rate of poverty reduction, it
is utmost important to keep those who have come out poverty from going back in
to the cycle again … That is why I would say the forum on food security, food
safety and nutrition is indeed the right thing to do and that is the point here
… Our aim here has come to the fact that we have to try our best to keep the
Cambodian people survive and not die of hunger …
The world has
become a dangerous living place … We have facing what is termed climate changes
and various other challenges, and the most recent one is A/H1N1 virus threat …
Can anyone imagine, what else will happen in the world? It is good that we have
thought of this matter quite sometime before it really happened – as a policy
makers and implementation monitors … It was quite unusual to see surplus in the
US current account … It gave us concern as the US economy is indeed the
locomotive of growth, whose negative development would result in unfortunate
condition for others …
We have taken a
bunch of measures for banking system in Cambodia … At the time those bankers
were not happy with our measures to increase reserve obligation from 8% to 16%
while placing a ceiling for those who borrow money for assets development … The
measures have indeed kept Banks in Cambodia healthy and able to reduce reserve
obligation at a gradual pace to 12%. In some countries banks gave out loans 100%
to customers for purchasing assets like houses, etc. As the situation has
evolved, Banks now asked for 100% repayment … Some people I know coming from the
United States told me s/he had to give her/his house which he bought on loan
from the Bank because s/he could not repay them …
As I said
earlier it seems that no economists could do any evaluation … Some economists
have confused themselves that they ranked Cambodia number 6 countries after Chad
in terms of being facing high risk … They have classified Zimbabwe, Sudan,
Angola, Congo, Chad, and Cambodia … as the high risk countries in face of the
current financial crisis and economic downturn …
A Culture of Wealth
Sharing
After the fall
of the genocide, no country in the world had more orphans and widows than
Cambodia – take the percentage rate into consideration … We had also more
disabled and elderly people who could not survive on their own … It was thanks
to the culture of wealth or resources sharing - a good tradition and custom of
the Cambodian people, the country had been able to save those in need – orphans,
widows and dependent elderly people …
In one of the
hearings in the Extraordinary Chamber in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) on the
genocide which was broadcast live, there is a young witness, who back in 1979
was a small child, talking about what he saw and heard in Tuol Sleng genocidal
camp ...
However what is
the most important topic I wanted to talk about is the fact that we had so many
mouths to feed and a major number of them lived in what we called the state
orphanages … Also some were saved by the pagodas … Many elderly people took
shelters in pagodas too … It is a good thing that Cambodia has this resources
sharing practice which could do a lot of good to needy people … Feeding and
caring for them was and will be the country’s morale …
World Economic Impacts on
Cambodia
… We
acknowledge that the impacts have firstly noted in trade of garments as we had
less order and some garments workshops have closed down … We have immediately
set up a package of fund for re-training of workers, who lost their jobs, so as
to transfer them to new jobs … We also noted impact on tourism industry when
there were less number of guests booking to hotels in Siemreap but to my
surprise tourists surged in the first five months of this year in Phnom Penh …
Another area
that is facing problem is construction … of course some have had their
foundations built and construction continues but in a smaller and slower scale …
no new construction is shaping up … We also noticed downfall in incoming flow of
investment capital as there has been a need for rearrangement of investment
capital flow back in their countries as well.
One country
that keeps its investment capital intact, at least in Cambodia, is the People’s
Republic of China … PRC is bold to uphold and implement all approved projects
and is also working on new projects as well …
PRC has been
active and continued to be active in broadening their investments, especially
big projects like hydropower station, which is Cambodia’s need … PRC has been
working on stations of Komjai, Kirirom, and Atai and is on the process of
working at Russei Jum and Kheng Areng as well …
Agriculture for Broad
Based Economic Growth
Here I wanted
to say a few things about agriculture … because I see it as an opportunity for
Cambodia in time of energy and food crisis … because Cambodia still has a
potential in agriculture … We by no means wanted the price of rice to go high so
that we take advantage from those in need … That is definitely not our intention
…
Within the
framework of ACMECS, Cambodia together with other members, especially Vietnam
and Thailand, have got potential for cultivation and export of rice … Again
agriculture in Cambodia is a prioritized sector … Whether being hit or given
opportunity by crisis, rice cultivation, production and export is indeed our
priority as it has a good strong potential for a broad based economic growth for
the country …
You all may
have heard and remembered that I and other dignitary leaders of Cambodia have
spoken in one voice for over five years and now preparing for development in
agriculture so that we will achieve a broad based economic growth leading to a
state that Cambodia no longer depends almost entirely on garments and tourism
which are usually associated with high risks from external factors … We have
talked about this five years ago … It is not a new thing …
In the last
years numerous rural irrigations have gone into function because the Royal
Government has made continuous investments in countless of irrigation projects –
building new ones and/or repairing economic efficiency ones … I would say we
have to go on with the targets that we have already set out and urge our people
to gradually change their cultivation practice from extensive to intensive
farming … aimed at keeping rice cultivation within manageable and
environmentally harm free size of land but to increase rice yield … This means
people will not be encroaching upon reserve forest and national parks …
Indeed we have
land that is left in drought and not irrigated … they are the land that can be
used for more cultivation … Land in Thailand and Vietnam has been to some extent
overused and their export seemed to have reached their peak already … Cambodia
has just cultivated land where water can be managed and irrigated while more
land that can be cultivated are waiting for water canals … Once that is solved
we will be able to grow more rice and therefore export more as well …
US$ 600 Million on
Northern Infrastructure
I have a report
of HE Kiet Chhon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economy and Finance, HE
Aun Poan Munirath, Head of the Supreme National Economic Council (SNEC) and his
colleagues, have visited our soldiers along the border … I agreed with the
reported that construction of roads and infrastructure along the border recently
has cost the country some 600 million US dollars … We will from there move to
set up housing complex and agricultural development … We will have to set up
“Nature Villages” for families of our soldiers …
A committee
will be established to look into this matter of housing construction and I think
HE Chea Sophara, Minister for Rural Development will be given the task to head
this committee … I wanted him to be successful in project along the border
though it has not been so at the project of Tonle Cham with the World Bank at
Memot of Kompong Cham … Each families could be give two or three hectares as
land with concession, owners of which do not have the rights to sell it … We
have invested hundred millions of dollars to transform the area into economic
development zone … People who are landless will have land and who are jobless
will have land to work on …
A Nation of Dictatorship
Falls Off Democratic Standard!
Some people
have come to us telling that Cambodia is slipping through from being a
democratic country. When did they rank us a democratic nation? How could the
country which has not been, according to what has been defined by a certain
group a democratic country to be falling from the democratic standard?
First they
labeled us a nation under dictatorship and now they say the country is falling
back from democracy. Would this not literally mean that the country has indeed
been a democratic nation? They said freedom of expression has been restricted.
How come you can talk and blame anyone you wish …
… The Plaintiff
lawyer – Mr. Kong Sam On, was being sued by the Government lawyers. Yesterday I
had a letter from him making his written apology, proposing a withdrawal from
the case, and seeking a membership of the Cambodian People’s Party. As it is not
my wish to seek anything else but justice, and as the person committing guilt
seeks for my forgiveness, and I should be reciprocate with an approval … I have
asked my lawyer to consider a case separation … So my legal action on the case
of Mr. Kong Sam On has been withdrawn …
Public Park Abuse … Human
Rights Issue?
Which country
in this world would let a public park to be a place for residence whereas action
taken to prevent illegal land grabbing has been branded a violation of human
rights? Some have resorted to set up living spaces on open drainage system,
while actions taken for them to move out has given reason to some people to
lambaste the Government of human rights abuse. I wonder if they have looked into
the issue before making any baseless comments. Some foreigners have turned
themselves to be spokespersons of the opposition parties, because of which
misunderstandings between governments …
Mr. Peter
Lepretch once accused the Royal Government of sending the Cambodian people to
reside in minefield in Poi Pet … How could a person like him make such a
comment? Some people have even raised issue of land revolution but I would seek
their understanding that I have defended successfully a thesis on people’s
democracy and it has now become a major part of the Cambodian People’s Party
political platform on the relevant topic.
We have started
based on this concept a policy of imposing no cultivation land tax on our
people, while about 56% of total fishing lots from the Government’s
accountability has been given out for people’s use … Peasant revolution in this
case would not be a subject for you to preach … It was indeed I who warned about
this … I warned against the abuse of people’s rights of their land or there
could be a peasant revolution … The absolute majority of farmers have had their
accesses and titles to lands on which they cultivate ... Note that land
grabbing and abuse are indeed the issues found to have happened in former war
zones …
Some of our
dignitaries may still remember when I had to travel around Ton Le Sap Lake on my
way to the border with Thailand at Poi Pet, under the Khmer Rouge’s threat from
either side of the road … Funnily enough, some claimed to have occupied the land
since 1987 or 1979. How could so and so resorted to such lies … I am no stranger
to these areas … where war, not normal human beings, reigned …■
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